


It’s Okay If You Hate Me, But...

by Hikkikoumori



Series: 4/1 is No Joke [1]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Elusive Sougo Returns, Iori has to face the fact that he’s kind of an ass without meaning to be, M/M, Negative Thoughts, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 14:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15709416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hikkikoumori/pseuds/Hikkikoumori
Summary: Tamaki finally voices his displeasure with not being validated... Except it’s more than that.





	It’s Okay If You Hate Me, But...

_Nanase-san, this. Nanase-san, that. Nanase-san’s vocals are so great, aren’t they?_ ‘Where’s my praise?’, Tamaki wondered. The only thing that ever left Iori’s mouth was regarding ‘Nanase-san’. Tamaki always did his best and Sougo praised him plenty, even Yamato sometimes, but he wanted _Iori’s_ validation. He wanted to hear Iori tell him how good of a job he was doing. _Anything_.

 

“Yotsuba-san! All of these answers are wrong!” _I’m sorry._

“Yotsuba-san, wake up!” _I spent all night practicing._

“Yotsuba-san!” Everything was negative. Iori always had a problem with what Tamaki did. Did he hate Tamaki? Did he really have such a standard for Riku that he was willing to ignore Tamaki altogether?

It hurt to think about. Someone Tamaki considered such a close friend actually just tolerating him. He closed his eyes and put his head on the table. Iori immediately sighed, “I’m sorry you’re tired, but this essay is due tomorrow and I’m not doing all the w--”  
“You won’t like the work I do anyway. You’ll make me redo it 5 times and then say, ‘I shouldn’t have trusted you with something so important.’ You always do.”

“I didn’t ask for your inp-- ...What?”

“Iorin won’t like what I do because I’m not Rikkun.”

“E-Excuse me?!”

“I’m leaving.” And so Tamaki grabbed his bag and left Iori alone.

 

The following days, Iori would make an effort to congratulate Tamaki in his own way, albeit a little awkwardly.

Tamaki got up on time and finished his breakfast? “Good…” Tamaki did good at practice? “Good work today, Yotsuba-san…” Tamaki helped with dinner? Iori made an effort to say how delicious it was. On any other occasion, Tamaki would take it, but Iori sounded as if it _pained_ him to compliment him. Mitsuki must have told Iori that Tamaki probably felt neglected, he was his only peer in the group after all. As Tamaki lay down that night, he saw a shadow under his door. His first immediate guess was Sougo but as he started to get up, he heard Iori.

“Yotsuba-san? I… would like to address something. Take your time, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

After a moment, Tamaki joined him in the kitchen and sat down. The two shared a brief moment of silence before Iori cleared his throat. “I assume… you understand what I meant. What I want to address--.”

“You don’t have to force yourself, Iorin. I know it’s hard to compliment me.”

“...I just didn’t think you’d hit me with something like that and _leave_. It was so unlike you, and I… I spent all night thinking about it.”

“It’s okay. I’m stupid, but I kn—”

“Who told you that?” Iori interrupted, seemingly more serious.

“N-no one but—”

“Then why do you think that?”

“Because I’m not as smart as you, and you seem to have a problem with everything having to do with school… So I just assumed you thought I was stupid.”

Iori’s face showed nothing but guilt. He’d open his mouth to say something, then close it again. Tamaki didn’t know what he could say either.

“It’s okay if you hate me, Iorin. I’m not as talented as Rikkun, but I’ll do better. For the sake of Sou-chan, at least.” Tamaki looked over to Iori and his face became riddled with more guilt, “I-I mean I know I’m reckless and I’m the reason that we have to stop practice so often, bu—.”

“Yotsuba-san! … Please… Please don’t think those things about yourself because of me.”

“Eh? But most of them you’ve said yourself.”

“I-I know. I know what I’ve said. I just… I just didn’t think you’d take them to heart. I didn’t think you’d dwell on it and let it just define you. Y-you shouldn’t have let that become “you”, Yotsuba-san!! W-why didn’t you try to be less reckless?! If someone tells you that, you try to fix it! Why are you…?”

“I did. You didn’t like it though.”

 

Iori thought back and he remembered previous conversations with Tamaki.

“Yotsuba-san! All of these answers are wrong!” _I’m sorry, I wanted to show you I could do it on my own without your help..._

“Yotsuba-san, wake up!” _I spent all night practicing so I could impress you…_

_“Besides… I don’t think I could ever meet the standard you hold Rikkun to.”_

 

“It’s getting la— I-Iorin?!” Tamaki looked over to Iori who was quietly staring off at the table with tears falling into his lap, “I-Iorin! S-Should I get Sou-chan? Where do you hurt?!”

Iori’s hand lifted and pointed to his chest. He sat there quietly sniffling and didn’t explain, but even an idiot like Tamaki could understand. The younger idol quietly wrapped Iori in a hug, offering him his warmth and letting him know it was okay. It was okay to hate him, it was okay to be hurting, and it was more than okay to cry. All things he felt Iori needed to know, he conveyed with the hug.

Finally, Iori’s voice broke and he choked out, “I’m sorry… I-I didn’t realize you… That you thought I was an asshole like that! I… I really… I don’t hate you! If anything, I’m the idiot for not realizing how you felt!! I’m so stupid… I should have—.”

Tamaki pressed his forehead to Iori’s and hummed. Iori was confused at first, but eventually his sniveling calmed down. He quietly whimpered and clung onto Tamaki. Neither spoke, only Tamaki hummed to soothe Iori, and they stayed that way.

* * *

When morning came, Sougo entered the kitchen and began making coffee for generally anyone who wanted it. Once it was done, he sat down at the table and waited for Iori or Mitsuki to come in. Usually Iori came in shortly after him, but he didn’t appear. That’s strange. Iori’s never slept in before. Sougo stood up and just as he did, he noticed something stirring around on the couch. He walked over and found a sleeping Tamaki, holding onto a sleeping Iori with tear stained cheeks. He held Iori close, as if he was shielding him somehow, as he gripped at Tamaki’s shirt. Beneath the blanket, their legs tangled together and their feet barely hung off the couch. Sougo blinked, and held in a chuckle to avoid waking the two. He instead smiled to himself and whispered, “I’m glad you worked it out.”

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of hurt to write actually, because I can relate to Tamaki’s feelings here. Also I know Tamaki is really confident in himself and all that but listen I’ll cover that iN MY NEXT FIC YEP YOU READ THAT RIGHT THERES A THIRD ONE eventually


End file.
